Co-advising

Gabriel Santos, Universidade Federal do Para, Brazil

Gabriel is studying the acoustic behavior of a recently described species of boto and leading a regional effort to obtain recordings of Sotalia species across their distribution to learn about signal variation at different geographical scales.

Betzi Perez, McGill University, Montreal Canada

Betzi is starting her PhD in McGill University under Dr. Andrew Henry. Betzi is interested in how stress associated to dolphin watching activities may affect cetaceans health.

Former Graduate Students

Ayshah Kassamali-Fox, Antioch University, New England

Ayshah is studying the individual reactions of bottlenose dolphins of Bocas del Toro to dolphin watching interactions. She concluded field work and is now working on data analysis and publications.

Ashely Sitar, George Mason University, USA

Ashley did her dissertation at GMU under Dr. Chris Parson. She studied how the local community and stakeholder perceived dolphins and dolphin watching activities. Ashley also assessed if boat operators follow or not current guidelines and the potential impact on dolphin behavior. Update: She graduated early this year and is currently working on several manuscripts. Here is her first PhD pub.

Shakira Quiñones Lebrón

Shakira recently finished her M.Sc. at University of Puerto Rico. She studied how different levels of engine noise affects signal emission in dolphin communication of groups with calves.​Update: She is currently working on her Ph.D. in Slovenia on spider behavior. Thesis pdf

Jose, was a M.Sc. student at the program of Marine and Coastal Resources of the Universidad Maritima Internacional of Panama. His assessed the potential implementation of dolphin watching activities in the National Park of Portobelo, Panama. Update: He successfully graduated last year.

Dalia Barragan

Dalia did her thesis work in Bocas del Toro, Panama. She studied the effect of dolphin-watching activities on the spatial distribution of bottlenose dolphin behavior.

Jose David Palacios

Pala did his Lic. in Golfo of Nicoya, Costa Rica where he study the interactions between shrimp trawling boats and two sympatric dolphinspecies: Stenella attenuata and Tursiops truncatus. Pala played a significant role in the Bocas Dolphin Project during 2006 to 2009. U

Jose Damian Martinez

'Washan' did his M.Sc. in Golfo of Cuajiniquil and Golfo Dulce. He evaluated the effect of several environmental factors on the distribution and abundance of various cetacean species, including the humpback whale, false-killer whales, spotted dolphins, and bottlenose dolphins.